Martin is quick to note, however, that the chicken sandwich was approached in a Panera-like way, “reinterpreting” a popular fast food item in a way that aligns to its legacy strengths. It’s not fried, but grilled, for instance, and carries the name “Chef’s Chicken Sandwich.”

Martin is contemplative but decisive when asked about an impression that the look could resemble that of a fast-food offering. After all, Panera is in the more premium "fast-casual" category.

“I would say this is not an aspiration to be a QSR [quick service restaurant]. What it is, is—do you want to eat food that’s not craveable? So crave is really important, it’s part of the visceral impulse we want to evoke,” she said. “And if you look at the work before, it was spot-on for its time. We were reinforcing the ingredient story. The fact that it’s clean food. And we’re not walking away from that, but it doesn’t stop at ingredients. It extends to delicious meals and the impact of those delicious meals on yourself and on the planet.

“So for us, bringing that vibrancy and energy is really about being truer to what an eating experience should be, and what we work hard to do at Panera,” she continued. “So if you look at the bursts—that’s what we call those little things flying off the food that’s kind of a design cue to signal that visceral moment when you eat something that’s really good—that ‘Mmmm’? That’s the design cue.”

This same moment is meant to be evoked by the sonic logo, developed for the company by Made Music Studio, which Martin says “simulates a great eating experience.” The horns it begins with represent anticipation, and the choral delivery at the end is “affirmation and satisfaction.”

'Advertising makes me hungry'

Consumer insights from the restaurant data and consultant firm Technomic would seem to support Martin’s contentions.

Robert Byrne, Technomic's director of consumer and industry insights, said the firm’s consumer studies show Panera’s food rates highly, but the temptation offered in its advertising less so. “Since Panera ratings for ‘advertising makes me hungry’ are among the lowest for the segment, there is definitely opportunity to tap into that guest equity from a promotional standpoint, for sure,” Byrne said.

And while Panera’s look may be quite different from 2019, the restaurant business also looks very different today than it did then, noted John Gordon, who runs the restaurant consultant business Pacific Management Consulting Group.

Gordon is referring to a never-ending series of what he calls “black swan” events, starting with the pandemic, that amounted to one calamity after another for the sector and continues on with the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, hyperinflation and gas prices. It includes a beaten-up stock market that last week caused Panera Brands to call off a planned reverse merger with a special-purpose acquisition company headed by restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group. The merger plan, announced last November, was meant to take the company back onto the public markets for the first time since 2017. (Panera Brands also controls the Einstein Bros. Bagels and Caribou Coffee chains.)

JAB Holdings, a German holding company that took Panera private in 2017, will continue to own and operate the chain. Niren Chaudhary, CEO of Panera Brands, in a July 1 statement said prolonged unfavorable conditions convinced the parties not to extend plans to make the deal beyond a June 30 deadline. He said, however, that Panera would still explore an IPO when market conditions improve.

While conditions remain challenging for all restaurants, Panera is relatively fortunate among them to have a message that’s new, and positioning relatively less affected by those dropping out of the channel due to economic conditions, such as lower-income consumers, said Gordon.

“Historically, it’s been good for restaurants when advertising to have something new to say—new products, new news, new concepts,” he said. “The conditions generally have been awful for restaurant margins. But having a new look is never bad, and Panera to me seems to be making news,” referring to the recent chicken sandwich launch and expansion of a paid unlimited-coffee offering that’s since been extended to other drinks, supporting loyalty and trip frequency.

Mother Bread's new job

There are parts of the Panera brand for which the chain’s shifting emphasis may no longer appear quite as prominent.

“Mother Bread,” Panera’s name for the illustration of a woman baker with flowing hair—and a reference to the term for a sourdough starter, which has been a part of all Panera restaurants for 30 years—isn’t gone completely. But she will no longer be quite as prominent a symbol, relegated to represent Panera’s bread, and no longer necessarily showing up alongside its wordmark.

Extensive analysis of all the brand’s “design vocabulary” revealed its most important associations with consumers were its wordmark, the color green, and bread, said Martin. “Mother Bread was less of association, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t an association,” Martin added. “It just meant that we needed to give her more purpose, and so that’s why tying her to bakery was critical.”

Martin said she is confident the changes underway will be welcomed by customers, and the time to do so is now. By the first quarter of next year, changes will reflect new food packaging, uniforms, and a rolling program of interior renovations will be underway.

“We’re not some pedantic geometry teacher lecturing you which equation to use. We have this big tent, we’re inviting people in,” she said. “It starts with the fundamental idea of a healthier and happier world, and for us, the question is ‘how does that come to life?’”

While design can be one way to influence consumer opinion, Panera’s ultimate goal is a difficult one to achieve by any means, noted Jonathan Maze, editor-in-chief of Restaurant Business, an industry trade journal.

“Panera’s strength has always been its perception as better fast food: better ingredients and healthier. But people want good food,” Maze said. “Finding a way to convince folks that its food is actually delicious is like the Holy Grail.”